Re: whining.....

[Guest guest]

,

Whine away, girlfriend--here we are! Do take care of yourself. Sending you

light, love, and a prayer.

Love,

Ann-Marie

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[Guest guest]

Hello everyone...

, I'm sorry your still feeling bad and I know when it goes on day

after day it wears on you. It's a wonder that your not grumpier than

you are... Hubby must be a wonderful person.

Ev, how are you doing? Any better?

I'm hoping that everyone else is doing much better.

Fern, how are you today? I've got a question for you that I forgot to

ask my doctor yesterday. I told you that my feet were hurting. I

bought a pair of sandals that fasten by velcro..I thought it would be

the perfect sandal, soft sole, open to let in the air to cool my puppies

off...BUT, by the time I got home last night.... I was in sooooooooo

much pain I could hardly move. All the muscles in my feet were

hurting....OUCH.!!!

When I told the doctor that something new has cropped up and it was my

feet...he said he thought it was neuoropathy .... I still haven't looked

it up....just kind of laying down and feeling sorry for myself...lol.

My calfs, knees, ankles, feet are all throbbing and the soles of my feet

are hot and tingling.

Before my appt. I went to the lab for my standing blood work up then off

to see my doctor. He wanted to check some other things like Hepatitis B

so it was off to the lab again for more blood work up. One thing I

noticed in the lab was that one vile had to be heated. Never seen that

before. Since my doctor heard a lot of crackles this time in my right

lung I was off to the xray room. There was another spot on my lung so it

was off to the CTscan..... it's a darn good thing everything I need is

all in one building.... I had to laugh after the nurse gave me the two

gowns to put on....after I put on the first one ..... someone had

painted a happy face on the front of it and that gown is only given to

the patients with a sense of humor.... now that made me feel pretty

good. All of us got a big kick out of it.

After the CTscan it was time to go do some grocery shopping....boy was

that a pain... but I finally got home and headed for the bed.

Today is very hot so I'm staying in bed all day in an AC room. Ok,

thats my tail of woe.....

Oh, they did take me off Miacalcin and put me on Actonel.... he told me

that they are seeing better results with this drug. Oh well, whats

another pill....

Have a great day everyone

Take care,

Vicki-PM

[Guest guest]

Hi and Everyone,

, I can sure relate to being short tempered while we are dealing with

this pain. I remember a couple of Thanksgivings ago that my painful hands

and the accompanying fatigue had finally gotten the best of me. Even though

the pain wasn't excruciating, it really made me snap that time. I not only

snapped at my husband, but at my mother, too. Two in one blow, I guess

:-(.......oh well....that's what apologies are made for.

You asked if I had noticed any teeth discoloration from taking the Minocin.

So far, I haven't noticed any.......except *maybe* a very slight change that

goes away after I brush my teeth in the mornings. I asked my dental

hygenist and she couldn't see any....so maybe I am imagining it? Also,

people who take Minocin long term can also have skin

hyperpigmentation.....it sort of looks like black and blue bruises from what

I have heard. Again, I haven't noticed any, yet. In most cases, people

opt to stay on the Minocin regardless of the hyperpigmentation (I have read

that it is harmless, but don't have a direct source at the moment.) Other

people switch to the same dose of Doxycycline, instead. I guess it depends

on how bad it looks. I do remember one lady's husband trying to reassure

his wife who was on the Minocin. She was doing very well as far as

rcovering from all of the symptoms.....pain, fatigue...etc. He told her,

" Honey, I don't care if you turn as blue as a Smurf. You are doing so much

better and it is so good to see you pain-free. "

Many people don't have any trouble at all with the hyperpigmentation. I

take 2000mg of vitamin C (several hours before or after taking the Minocin)

and a rheumatologist by the name of Dr. Grahame Chiu from New Zealand

speculates that the Vit. C might help the situation. You're right......the

side effects of the Minocin are much less than those of Prednisone and

Methotrexate.

Keep at it , I know it's hard when our doctors really don't know for

sure what is going on. You and they will get it figured out. Take care and

hugs, too,

Connie

whining.....

> Good Morning!

> Thanks all for the advice. I may give the doc a call sooner rather

> than later, but am still trying to figure things out more on my own

> so I can ask for the right tests and know my body better. It IS

> confusing.

>

> Last night before bed I broke down and took a Vioxx to get some

> relief. Even with sleeping pill, did do some tossing and turning thru

> the night....

>

> I'm ashamed to admit I've gotten rather short with my husband the

> last 2 days, even though we haven't spent much time together due to

> his work hours! I apologized this AM and try to explain that when I

> hurt nonstop for a few days, I tend to get rather crabby and

> shorttempered. Selfishly, I had wanted him to give me a massage last

> night instead of him going over to the barn to work on golf clubs at

> 1030 PM when he got home from work! He really wants to start making

> more money doing that on the side, which leaves even less time for

> family life. If I felt I were able, I'd get a part time job so he

> wouldnt have to work so much, but I just don't feel up to it.Whine,

> whine whine.

> I'm still better off than many of you, being able to get around OK

> even in discomfort, go for walks and do housework and yardwork, but I

> think over the weekend I simply did too much. I just want to figure

> out what is exactly going on with the ol bod and that's why I go off

> the Vioxx to see if I can get along or am gradually feeling worse.

> Gee, just 6-8 months ago all I took was my regular antihistamine, and

> now I seem to " rebound " or feel rotten if I don't take Vioxx.....

> Connie, have you had darkening of your teeth or any other side

> effects taking the AP? I'm sure, tho, any side effects would be

> minimal compared to Pred and other meds.

> Later gators! PS- Hoping to go see a movie tonight with hubby- that

> is, if he gets home from playing golf soon enuf. He needs to do that

> for himself- he is 50 and has had 5 heart attacks and 2 bypass

> surgeries, but has seemed OK for the last 8 years, but I

> worry.............

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Vicki,

I think the excitement of the trip and my Dad coming has caught up with me.

I also think all the ups and downs with the prednisone has been worse on me

than keeping the dose up. So I plan to keep the dose up for a while. I am

having a lot of pain and swelling with muscle weakness. My massage

therapist can feel the swelling and it is right where it hurts.

It sounds like your feet are hurting due to changing shoes for one thing.

New shoes change the way we walk and the angles of our joints sometimes and

will set off a flare of symptoms. What you really need is a good pair of

orthotic type shoes or good, supportive tennis shoes. If you just have to

have sandals, I would buy Birkenstocks or something compribable because they

support the feet like orthotics do.

It is possible you have neuropathy, but you can be tested for that. One

talk in the doctor's office is not enough to determine if that is the

problem. Neuropathy causes symptoms such as numbness, tingling, painful

sensations, crawling sensations, and burning. It is as a result of damage

to peripheral nerves. It can be caused by high blood pressure, diabetes,

nerve conditions, trauma, poor circulation or even unknown.

Each blood test has a certain protocol for how the sample is handled and

some have to be separated, some have to be cooled, some are frozen, and some

are even heated.

Gentle hugs,

Fern